SIDELINES

Press, 12 September 1986, Page 14

SIDELINES

KAREN PHILLIPS’ win with Toni Whittaker in the open women’s doubles at the New Zealand badminton championships in Christchurch last Saturday was her sixth success in the event. Five have been shared with Whittaker and. one with Alison Wilson. Only two players, Alison Branfield and Vai Gow, a current New Zealand selector, have won the doubles title more times. Gow won the event 10 times from 1950 until 1966, and Branfield on nine occasions, five times with her sister, Robyn. ON THE SUBJECT of national badminton, the New Zealand provinical teams’ tournament, the Wisden Cup, will be held in Christchurch next year. The competition, for the top six teams in the country, was last held in the Skellerup Hall five years ago. Auckland has won the event in each of the last 20 years, and indeed has only missed out on the trophy in two of the past 29 seasons, those being 1965 and 1966 when Wellington triumphed. TWELVE OF New Zealand’s most promising badminton players will spend a week in Hong Kong early next year. The squad of six men and six women, accompanied by two officials, will undergo intensive training and tournament play. It is possible they will have a second week in Singapore before returning early in February. The squad will be announced later this week. HORNBY’S VICTORY in the Canterbury Lion Red rugby league championship grand final at the Addington Show Grounds last Sunday completed a notable family double. The Hornby front-row forward, Stu Wells, aged 27, effectively emulated the feat of his brother, Ken, aged 24, who was a wing in the Shirley side which won the Canterbury rugby union club title late last month.